Wanda Deny Wang Jianlin Detention Rumors as Shares Slide

The Wanda Group saw its shares slide earlier today after several media reported that its billionaire owner, Wang Jianlin, was detained last week at Tianjin Airport and subsequently forbidden to leave the country. Wanda has dismissed the rumors as false.

Bowen, a US-based Chinese blog, first published the news, reporting that Wang and his family were detained by police for several hours at the airport on August 25 as they were leaving on a private plane bound for the United Kingdom. As they were boarding, they were allegedly stopped by police and forbidden to enter the plane. The report says that they were eventually released but told they were no longer allowed to leave the country.

"Certain individuals with ulterior motives have recently created and spread various vicious rumors regarding the Chairman of Wanda Group, Mr. Wang Jianlin. These rumors first appeared in mid-August, but were proven completely unfounded after Mr. Wang traveled to Lanzhou, Gansu province for a business trip. Unfortunately, it appears that some people have once again been peddling the same rumors. Yesterday, Boxun, a Chinese language media outlet based overseas, exaggerated the rumor even further and continued to spread vicious gossip.

"Wanda Group strongly reiterates that all of these rumors are utterly baseless and have ulterior motives behind them. Wanda Group encourages the public not to believe the rumors or spread them further. We have reported the situation to relevant government department and also reported the case to public security authorities. Wanda Group is determined to protect its rights with legal actions and pursue legal actions against the relevant media."